Public Meeting - Prayer

SALISBURY, N.C. (AP) - In North Carolina, a Rowan Countycommissioner has opened the board's latest public meeting with aChristian prayer, despite a warning from the state chapter of theAmerican Civil Liberties Union that doing so could trigger alawsuit. The Salisbury Post reports that Commissioner Jon Barber openedMonday's meeting with an invocation asking for a blessing in thename of Jesus, as has long been the board's practice. The ACLU recently began contacting local governments acrossNorth Carolina after the U.S. Supreme Court declined to review aruling by the 4th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in Richmond, Va.,that found sectarian prayers at public meetings violate FirstAmendment protections. An ACLU spokesman said Monday the group will now consider filinga lawsuit against the county.